In 1917 when the world was reeling from the First World War, Our Blessed Mother chose three little children in Portugal to bring a message of peace to the world, a promise of peace, if we changed our ways and turned to God. She came to ask us to pray the Rosary, to make sacrifices for sinners, to do the Five First Saturdays. Jacinta (6yrs), Francesco (8yrs) Lucia (9yrs) to whom Our Blessed Mother appeared, understood this message and embraced it with all their little hearts, although still so young.
I recently visited Fatima where these events took place and was deeply touched by the lives of these children. No sacrifice was too great for them, even to giving their lunch away and fasting from food and drink all day to do penance for poor sinners. They refused to be forced to tell a lie about the apparitions even when threatened to be put in boiling oil. Their love of the rosary was immense and they never wasted a moment when they could pray the rosary for the needs of Our Blessed Mother and those of the world. They are truly an example that can be held up for children of their age and indeed for us.
In our very troubled world today where violence and war are escalating and suffering for so many is extreme, Our Lady is again inviting children to pray the Rosary. Many small children’s prayer groups are springing up all over the world, part of a movement called The Children’s Rosary, where it is the children themselves who lead and say the rosary and pray for peace in our world. These Rosary groups are like pure incandescent lights in the darkness of the world. There are many beautiful testimonies from the children who love to pray the rosary and get great solace from the presence of Our Lady. One little girl said that she loves to continue saying the rosary throughout the day at home such is the  great comfort she receives from reciting it! In thinking about children’s prayers I’m reminded of what Our Lord said about the children “Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones; for, I tell you, in heaven their angels continually see the face of my Father in Heaven.” (Matthew 18:10) That is truly a beautiful thought. In another instance Jesus says to the Pharisees who judged the children’s cries of Hosanna inappropriate “Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise for yourself’” (Matthew 21:16) Their purity, their direct contact with God, their innate ability to see the world with untarnished eyes and approach it with boundless compassion makes their prayers powerful over the Heart of God.
How important it is for our children today to learn to have a relationship with Jesus and Our Blessed Mother if they are to steer their way through all the venomous elements the world is going to propose to them, at school, and among peers. A faith that is purely based on ritual no longer holds firm with the winds of secularism. This is one of the reasons we started a Sunday School in the Claddagh this year. Not only to teach children about their faith, but also to encourage them to get to know and have a relationship with God, Our Blessed Mother, their guardian angel etc. The sessions are based on the Word of God and the children discover how God’s Word is “alive and active” and can tell them something for their own lives.
The other day in the Sunday School we decided to start our sessions with a decade of the rosary led by the children themselves. This brings a whole other dimension into our session, the Presence of Our Blessed Mother who can help them to understand and integrate the teachings and who, in doing so, brings them to Jesus her Son.
I’d just like to end with the story of Rosa, a little girl in Colombia who was born deaf and dumb in the 18th Century. She was healed miraculously by Our Lady and as though to prove her miraculous visit to the doubting villagers a wonderful image of Mary carrying Jesus and giving the rosary to St Dominic appeared on the wall of a cave nearby. The colours could not be explained by scientists especially as they run deep into the cave’s wall for several meters. It was as though then and as she does today Mary is inviting us to take up the rosary like the little children, to pray for our world, to penetrate the hardest of hearts to bring them back to God. 
​Kate

We have St Luke's Gospel to thank for those extraordinary details of Mary’s life, and the wonderful tenderness of the Nativity. St Luke is also known for his parables, of which at least fifteen are unique to his gospel. These parables are part of the reason Luke’s gospel is often referred to as the ‘Gospel of mercy’ or that in the collect for the Mass on his feast day, the Church refers to him as the saint who reveals “by his preaching and writings the mystery of [God’s] love for the poor”.
The parable of The Good Samaritan (Lk 10:25-37) belongs to that Lucan tradition and it is proclaimed on the 15th Sunday of Ordinary Time in Year C of the liturgical calender. It expresses a deeply Christian truth, but has a universal human appeal. The person who is a ‘neighbour’ cannot indifferently pass by the suffering of another and the association of this vivid parable with basic human solidarity has meant that it has even been adopted by name into civil laws designed to ‘oblige’ Samaritan-like behaviour in countries that are not of the Judaeo-Christian tradition.
The Good Samaritan has been a constant in the minds of Christians throughout Church history. It is represented in the illuminations of the 6th century Rossano Gospels and was one of the four most popular subjects depicted in 13th century French cathedrals. Used by St Pope Paul VI to sum up the pastoral attitude of the Second Vatican Council Fathers, the parable has figured prominently in the writings of each post-Conciliar Pope not least in its application to ‘health care’ for which it has a particular relevance. Pope St John Paul II declared it to be the parable that “best articulates the heart of the health care mission and ministry of Jesus Christ.” Most recently, it has been applied to “the care of persons in the critical and terminal phases of life” in the document Samaritanus Bonus (SB, 2020), published by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF). This document responds of course to arguments raised in support of euthanasia, but invites us also to consider the Gospel account more deeply.
In Luke’s text, we hear that the Samaritan is “moved with compassion” when he “sees” the man who has fallen prey to the brigands. The Greek verb used by Luke ἐσπλαγχνίσθη implies a very visceral or deep seated reaction. The corresponding noun σπλάγχνα can refer to the gut, the intestines or even the womb. His pity is instantaneous and his ‘seeing’ produces a very different response to that of the first two passers-by.
Up to this point in his Gospel, Luke has only used this word to describe Jesus’ reaction to the widow of Nain who has lost her son (7:13) and this is just one of three action verbs linking the parable to that one. Both Jesus at Nain and the Samaritan in the parable “see” the problem, “are moved with compassion” and “approach” the dead or half-dead individual. Thus, the model behaviour of the Samaritan has, for Luke, already and only ever been demonstrated by Jesus himself. Luke uses the verb once more in the parable of The Prodigal Son to describe the father’s compassionate response (15:20).
The Samaritan’s compassion is manifested in the series of actions by which he cares for the man. He uses the resources he has available (oil and wine and his own animal), including his own money (two silver coins – i.e., two days’ wages). He gives of his own time (the next day). He gets other people to help (the innkeeper). He promises to follow up (on my way back). It is interesting that we never hear the outcome—did the man survive or did he eventually succumb to his injuries? This is not considered by Luke to be a necessary detail.
Remarking the contrasting attitudes of the Priest, Levite and Samaritan when they “see” the man in need of help, Benedict XVI characterises the program of the Good Samaritan as “a heart that sees” (Deus Caritas Est, DCE 31b), a theme taken up in SB and by Pope Francis in Fratelli tutti.
SB views this quality as “central to the program of the Good Samaritan” and linked to a compassionate heart which is touched and then engaged. The Samaritan stops to show care. He sees where love is needed and acts accordingly (DCE 31). He recognises in weakness God’s call to appreciate the place of human life as the primary common good of society. It is a sacred and inviolable gift and is the basis for the enjoyment of all other goods, including man’s transcendent vocation to a unique relationship with the Giver of life (Evangelium Vitae, EV 49).
In Part III which is dedicated to the ‘seeing heart’, SB indicates the source of man’s original dignity as that which comes from being created in the image of God with the calling to exist in “the image and glory of God” (1 Cor 11:7; 2 Cor 3:18). Often a ‘loss of dignity’ is cited as a justification for euthanasia, but this could perhaps be better expressed as loss of a ‘sense of dignity’ or ‘self-worth’, which is not the same.
Both John Paul II (Veritatis Splendor, VS 14) and Benedict XVI make the link between the Lucan parable and the Last Judgement (Mt 25: 31-46), which demonstrates that love becomes “the criterion for the definitive decision about a human life’s worth”. Jesus identifies himself with those in need (Mt 25:40) whereby “love of God and love of neighbour have become one: in the least of the brethren we find Jesus himself, and in Jesus we find God” (DCE 14).
The “wine of hope” which was spoken of by St Augustine in his commentary on the parable is deemed by Benedict XVI to be the specific contribution of the Christian faith in the care of the sick and refers to the way in which God overcomes evil in the world. Pope Benedict XVI comments that “a society unable to accept the suffering of its members and incapable of helping to share their suffering, and to bear it inwardly through ‘compassion’ is a cruel and inhumane society” (Spe Salvi, SS 38).
SB states that one of the greatest miseries and most profound sufferings in terminal illness consists in the loss of hope in the face of death. This hope is a fruit of the Paschal Mystery of Christ, who conquers sin and death and is proclaimed by the Christian witness. The Good Samaritan puts the face of his brother in difficulty at the centre of his heart, and sees his need, offers him whatever is required to repair his wound of desolation and to open his heart to the luminous beams of hope (SB).
SB concludes that the mystery of the Redemption of the human person is in an astonishing way rooted in the loving involvement of God with human suffering, which is what the parable of The Good Samaritan communicates to us. Even within a “throwaway culture” Christian witness demonstrates that hope is always possible.
​
Anne
 

T​he birth of Jesus in Bethlehem is the most awe-inspiring, glorious event in history. Christians recognise and celebrate this as the central event of history. However, what can sometimes go unnoticed is how Jesus’ coming was announced and prepared for throughout the ages: God in his loving kindness never abandoned his creation and humankind. Instead, God cared for them, progressively taught and led them in  such a way as to prepare them for his coming “in the fullness of time”.
In the unfolding of the story there are great characters and perennial lessons to be learnt. Some figures and scenes are especially familiar to us – but whether or not we are familiar with the general thrust of the storyline, these accounts deserve to be looked at more closely and pondered. The story of Joseph is forever vivid in our minds, closely associated with his coat of many colours. Joseph is rejected and mistreated by his brothers, sold into slavery and taken off to Egypt. Amongst the many lessons, we are shown the path of forgiveness and the providential care of God – nothing is impossible to him, everything can be taken up and brought to bear fruit. The account in Genesis develops many stages, which lead to a situation where the brothers, driven by famine, come in search of grain to Egypt and the house of Pharoah. With great drama, the saga culminates in Joseph revealing himself and forgiving his siblings. Furthermore, Joseph declares that although his brothers had intended to harm him, God intended to bring good from the situation and to save many (Genesis 45:5). Joseph’s stunning declaration can encourage us in our own lives.

The story of course foreshadows the great story of redemption: the saving work of Jesus. For us today, we can be encouraged and strengthened in hope: nothing is beyond the reach of grace. We may see the signs of brokenness and woundedness in ourselves and others; we may be confronted with difficult situations. However, we can always have hope, and place our trust in the Lord and ask for his grace, take the step and do what is ours to do. The story of Joseph, and how it fits within the greater plan of salvation is one which can be a source of great encouragement for us today.
Some two thousand years later, we commemorate how that story of salvation unfolded and led to the birth of Our Lord. We recall with wonder and gratitude how Jesus was born to his mother Mary, in Bethlehem. But, not only do we cast our minds back and remember that past event. Today, as Christians, we are called to recognise that Jesus came and also to dare to claim that He had future generations in mind. He is not some impersonal saviour of the masses: Jesus came for me, for you. He awaits and indeed longs for each one of us to know his saving love and welcome him with trust.
Trish
​Images:
​[Top Right] Giovanni Andrea de Ferrari  'Joseph's Coat Brought to Jacob', oil on canvas, c. 1640.
[Bottom Right]  Bl. Fra Angelico. Christ in Judgement (detail from the vault, Orvieto Cathedral)